Thanks for guidance and help.

Well, the trip to California put a little cramp in my blogging every day. Ah well! Now I'm back in the 703, and so when I inevitably miss more days I'll just have to think of other excuses. ;)

Polly and I got back home this evening. Early this morning (3 a.m. California time) Polly woke up barking like a seal and wheezing. She had a hard time nursing and a hard time breathing. It was super scary--and not just because with my kids' health I'm an overprotective, overthinking, pediatrician-calling mom (which I am). Somehow after 4 kids this is the first time I've dealt with croup and I finally understand what the fuss is about. I called my pediatrician's office in Virginia to see if Polly getting on a plane in this condition would be an issue, and the nurse listened to Polly's cough and breathing over the phone, relayed the info to the doctor on call, and got back to me with the advice to get her checked out before getting on my plane.

This was stressful in part because my flight was leaving SFO at 9:40 a.m. and in part because after my anticlimactic ER visit (the bills for which are still not completely paid off) I was really reluctant to go to an ER again. Anyway, after some Googling and Yelping and praying and thinking and texting with Matt and sitting in a sweltering steamy bathroom with my little barking beauty, I decided to borrow Hannah's car and take Polly to a local urgent care, which opened at 7, and cross my fingers that I could make it to the airport on time.

That's a long introduction to a short story, which is that I am thankful for the times in my life when things fall into place. And I see how things fall into place, and I realize that some of the "falling" is actually my pushing, because I worked hard to figure something out, but a lot of it is really just falling. 

We arrived a few minutes before the clinic opened and snagged the first appointment. The doctor diagnosed croup and gave her a steroid. The doctor, who was super nice, and understanding when I kept asking how much everything cost, didn't charge me for the steroid. They sent us on our way with a "hope you make your flight!" and Hannah and Rhoda were waiting at their house to drive us to the airport. We made our flight. The flight was good. Polly clearly felt better and she even took a 2-hour nap. The kids were beside themselves with glee to see their baby sister after a few days apart from her.

Not a dramatic story. The stakes weren't that high. But it was so nice to feel watched over. God felt close. I know it's not always neat and tidy. But it's a nice breath of fresh air when it is.